


At first, Takahiro doesn't pay attention to it.

by kayejwrotes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Comedy, Domestic Fluff, Dorks, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, also, and also of LOTR references, but nothing too heavy, lots of comedy, mild arachnophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-12 01:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13536711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayejwrotes/pseuds/kayejwrotes
Summary: “What?”Issei looks at him without turning his head, only his eyes straying from the movie playing on their makeshift cinema. It's only the screen of their laptop hooked with some weird cables and a lot of creativity to their TV screen, but with the lights switched off and a bowl of snacks between them, that's a cinema.At first, Takahiro doesn't pay attention to it.They are watching The Hobbit, comfortably tucked closely against each other on the springy couch.He's been waiting for their weekly date night.





	At first, Takahiro doesn't pay attention to it.

**Author's Note:**

> "Headcanon (yes, I found it!) Mattsun hides behind a pillow while watching Lotr/the Hobbit whenever Shelob or other giant spider show up. Mattsun always looks so chill but I bet he's hella afraid of spiders and other insects for no particular reason." that's what Geo sent in my inbox a few weeks ago, and here I am, posting this thing that kinda took her own life and I don't know where it's headed anymore.  
> Anyway, I had fun writing it! :D

“What?” 

Issei looks at him without turning his head, only his eyes straying from the movie playing on their makeshift cinema. It's only the screen of their laptop hooked with some weird cables and a lot of creativity to their TV screen, but with the lights switched off and a bowl of snacks between them, that's a cinema.

At first, Takahiro doesn't pay attention to it.

They are watching The Hobbit, comfortably tucked closely against each other on the springy couch.    
He's been waiting for their weekly date night. 

Honestly, it's just ordering whatever they want and watching their favourite movies over and over, but he waited for this anyway, mainly because it was his turn to choose the movies they'd watch.

 

He'd wanted to try his stamina with the whole LOTR marathon, but when the thought of watching even the prequel had passed by one afternoon, he knew he couldn't resist. 

 

It was from the beginning or nothing, and Issei had agreed with him on this. It was the same with the whole Kill Bill series for him. 

Moreover, he knows Issei had never seen the whole saga so it's mandatory for him to look at it.

 

They start with the first movie, debating whether or not a handkerchief is really needed to start an adventure or how much the goblin king must weight - serious diet material there - and go on from there. 

 

There’s this constant stream of comments going back and forth between them everytime they watch movies together, but no one really minds. 

 

Issei’s voice rumbles comfortingly next to him on the couch, sometimes interrupting long scenes, but not really interfering with the flow of the movie. 

 

Takahiro’s seen the movie thousands of times already, but it’s nice to watch it with Issei at his side, slowly leaning on his side, cold feet tucked under his thighs. 

 

They pause to stretch a bit between a movie and the next one, refilling on snacks and drinks, so when the Desolation of Smaug begins, they’re once again ready to tackle the new movie. 

 

Issei is particularly worked up about the whole Azog thing. What the fuck is he doing there? Why does he hate the dwarves so much? And also, what the fuck is that dark thing he’s talking to?

 

Takahiro is submerged with questions all along the scene, through the dwarves arrival at Beorn’s house and until they enter the Grim Forest.

 

“It looks like an ill place. The elves are doing a pretty shitty job of tending to it.” Issei quips, taking a fistful of popcorn from their snack bowl.

 

“It’s not really their job, you know.” Takahiro murmurs back, snuggling just a bit closer, an amused grin on his lips at the remark. He has listened to this thing every time he had watched the movie with someone, because yeah, the Nandor are doing a pretty bad job with the Grim Forest. Not that the name helps.

 

“Well, it should be. They are elves, isn’t caring for nature and such their thing?”

 

“Yeah it is, but not quite…”

 

And that’s when he feels Issei tense beside him for the first time.

 

The dwarves are lost in the Grim Forest, the path forgotten and the air of the forest’s clogging their mind and senses, confusing them with its illusions.

They touch trees, cobwebs, dead leaves on the ground, going around the forest without direction nor purpose anymore. 

 

Nothing really happened yet, but he felt Issei going stiff for barely an instant, while Bilbo was playing with a cobweb, sound reverberating around, but the scene goes on and Issei doesn’t relax yet.

 

“What?” Issei asks, feeling his eyes on himself.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Hm-hm.” But he adds nothing more.

 

Maybe the cloying sensation from the scene has affected him more than Takahiro could imagine?

Well, it’s really well done, in his humble opinion. Until Bilbo hasn’t climbed up the tree and the light filters through the sky again, that oppressive feeling lingers on him too. Kudos to Tolkien for writing such a beautiful scene - and to Peter Jackson for shooting it so majestically.

 

“It’s really amazing the difference light can make in one shot, isn’t it?” He tries to make some light conversation, but Issei just hums along, not really saying anything.

 

“You can almost feel how much the lack of fresh air was affecting them before…” he goes on, not taking his eyes off the screen while butterflies fill the view, “I bet it’s some kind of complicated psychological shit, but what makes it great is that anyone can pick up on it with this sequence. It’s a great symbol for it.” Takahiro goes on rambling, because honestly it’s a great scene and now he’s too curious about why Issei is tensing up that bad, beside him. 

 

Bilbo descends the tree, having noticed something, but he trips on a patch of web, and falls down.

 

Issei goes rigid, body frozen next to him, and Takahiro looks up at him - maybe he’s unwell? - but the only thing he notices it’s how Issei’s eyes are oddly fixed on the screen, as if he can’t really take them away from what’s happening on it but at the same time he really doesn’t want to watch what’s happening there.

 

Bilbo falls right on a spiderweb, getting stuck on it with his arm. The music makes a crescendo, and Takahiro feels a tight grip on his wrists.

Issei’s clutching his wrist in a deathly grip, eyes still fixed on the screen, when slowly the camera zooms in on a thick-looking layer of web… through which a giant spider comes out, maws open and ready to bite Bilbo, when a scream interrupts its...

 

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Issei jumps up with a disgusted scream, legs kicking away pillows and covers, their bowl of popcorns airborne with all of the remaining content, and Takahiro falls face down on the couch cushion, wrist still in Issei’s death grip.

 

The scene goes on, the giganormic spider wrapping up Bilbo neatly until the screen goes dark, and Issei makes little, disgusted sounds - “ _ shit shit shit shit _ ” - while looking at it, now safely again on the couch, having jumped on it again.

 

Takahiro smashes the space bar on his laptop and the movie stops, Issei instantaneously releasing his wrist.

 

He stands up, looking down at Issei slowly reddening face. The bastard even has the audacity to look at him as if nothing has happened.

 

“What. The. Actual. Fuck. Issei.” 

 

“What.”

 

“What was that?!” He almost shouts, hands indicating the point where Issei was doing his little “ shit shit shit shit” dance.

 

“...” Issei just stares at the dark screen, the top of his ears having taken up a very peculiar cherry hue, but he doesn’t say anything.

 

“Oh no, you are not doing this, not after almost breaking my wrist!” Takahiro nods, plopping himself down right next to his friend.

 

“... I’m sorry if I hurt you.” Issei mumbles apologetically, taking his wrist in his hands and gently caressing it in circular motions, but he still doesn’t look at him in the eyes.

 

Takahiro doesn’t say anything, at first, trying to decipher what happened to his friend until a recurring detail makes sense, and he lights up with an incredulous grin.

 

“Oh my god. It’s the spiders, isn’t it? You are afraid of spiders?!” 

Takahiro’s this close to start laughing because honestly how can Issei be afraid of spiders? He’s one thousand times bigger than them.

 

“...”

 

“Ooooh! This is going to be amazing! Matsukawa Issei, 1.80 something of cool sarcasm is afraid of spiders. I can’t quite believe it!” Takahiro starts cackling like a fool, rolling on the couch and falling off, while Issei just hides his face in his hands.

 

“Hiro you're a jerk…” 

 

Takahiro stops and tries to right himself, because yeah he’s one, but not really.

“I proudly am, but I’m not such a bastard though. Anyway… I can’t really wrap my head around it. Spiders are just spiders… how can you be afraid of them?” 

 

It’s not that he’s afraid of them… he’s fucking terrified, okay? 

Those horrible creatures have too many legs, too many eyes, some of them had even poison, what the fuck.    
They crawled around, leaving traps and wrapping up their meals for later, making them suffer and sometimes keeping them alive for days before eating them. How cruel was that?!

 

Issei knows that he could go on for days with a list of perfectly logical reason to be terrified by spiders, but in the end it only revolves around a nasty sensation in his stomach, churning with uneasiness whenever he sees one of them, unable to stay in the same room as the thing. It’s instinct, illogical, pure and raw, and most of all uncontrollable.

 

If it wasn’t for the genuine curiosity in his voice, probably Issei wouldn’t have answered him, but right now Hiro’s looking at him with such a pure curiosity, really interested in knowing why is he afraid of spiders, he can’t quite keep himself from shouting “ How can you not?!” 

 

Takahiro looks at him, shrugging.

“They’re just spiders! Little things that you can brush away or just crush under your feet if it really bothers you. Hell, even between your fingers if it’s small enough.”

 

“What the fuck Takahiro! That’s fucking disgusting!”

 

“What are you… Hey! I always wash my hands after, I’m not such a shitty spider murderer.” He tries to defend himself.

 

“You kill them with your fingers!” Issei goes on, just distancing himself a little bit more, “I held hands with you! And you just squish them between thumb and forefinger!”

 

“I wash them I told you!”

 

“I’m not gonna have you this close. You squish those too-many-legged things with no chill! How come you’re not afraid of them!?”

 

“They aren’t as dangerous as one would think, you know…” He tries, really tries, because under all that commotion he can see that Issei’s disgust and fear are real. 

 

“Who needs all those legs?!” his attempt at calming Issei down is going nowhere apparently “I can understand four, but eight?! Who needs eight legs?! And they creep around crawling on them so…” 

 

Issei’s rant is interrupted by a warm pressure on his cheek, squished by Takahiro’s palms.

“Issei. They’re literally 100 times smaller than you.” Takahiro whispers this while looking him directly in the eyes, but what Issei gets from Takahiro’s look tells him a different story: “I’m here. Calm down. No spiders around, you dummy.”

 

Issei closes the distance between them, smashing his nose into Takahiro’s cheek.

 

There’s a moment of silence when the only thing he pays attention to it’s the sound of Takahiro’s breathing, the steady up and down of his shoulders whenever he takes a deep inhale of Issei’s shampoo from where his nose is buried into the soft curls of his boyfriend.

 

Issei focuses on that, letting go thoughts about spiders creeping over him, crawling over his skin, and it’s so easy to do when the only sensation he can feel on him is the gentle caresses of Takahiro’s hand on his back. 

 

“...better?” Takahiro asks softly, a brush of his lips just above his left ear.   
  
“...they still have too many legs.” Issei mumbles quietly snuggling closer. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading until now!  
> As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated (they are what gets me going!!) and if you ever want to, you can find me at @kayejwrotes on Tumblr or Twitter.


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